40-year-old man gets 20 years’ jail term, five years after his daughter accuses him of sexual assault
The prosecution had submitted before the court that the child lived with her two younger sisters and father, who worked as a sweeper in the western suburbs of the city. H
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The prosecution had submitted before the court that the child lived with her two younger sisters and father, who worked as a sweeper in the western suburbs of the city. Her mother passed away when she was fiveA special court in Mumbai sentenced a 40-year-old man to 20 years in jail on the charges of rape, five years after his minor daughter called up a helpline number for children and accused him of sexually assaulting her for three years between 2017 and 2020.
The prosecution had submitted before the court that the child lived with her two younger sisters and father, who worked as a sweeper in the western suburbs of the city. Her mother passed away when she was five. The girl revealed that between 2017, when she was a 13-years-old, till 2020, her father would come home drunk and sexually abuse her.
During her testimony in court, the girl said initially she did not know that she was being sexually abused as they had not been taught about sex education in school. Subsequently, when a session on sex education was held at her school, the girl realised she was being sexually abused and confronted her father.
She told the court that her father beat her up and she got scared, due to which she did not disclose about the abuse to anyone back then. The child girl told the court that she reported the abuse to her paternal aunt but as she did not support her, she eventually found out about the helpline Childline and called on it.
The social worker from the helpline also deposed before the court, stating that after she was informed about the call, she went to trace the girl on the incomplete address given by her. When she could not find her, she went to the school as the girl had told the helpline about her school.
From the school, the social worker traced the girl’s address and went to her house and met the girl. The girl told the social worker that she did not want to live with her father and they approached the police, which then registered a complaint against her father under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The father, through his lawyer, claimed that he was being falsely implicated as he had scolded her for not going to school.
The court considered medical evidence and witness statements to conclude that the girl was sexually abused. It, however, said that sending the father behind bars for life would be ‘severe punishment’ as there is no other elder member in the family.
“The strong pillars of prison may make any change in the behaviour of accused during his detention. At present, the age of the accused is 40 years…The victim and her sisters, under the hope of drastic change in the behaviour of their father after long detention, would in future get the support of their father,” said the court while sentencing the man to 20 years in jail.
While a complaint was also filed against the girl’s paternal aunt for not reporting the offence after the girl confided in her, the court acquitted her for lack of evidence.
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